Kim Jong-il or Kim Jong Il[a] (Korean: ê¹€ì •ì ¼; Korean
pronunciation: [kim.dzÉ"Å‹.il];[b] 16 February 1941 or 1942 â€" 17
December 2011) was a North Korean politician who served as the second
Supreme Leader of North Korea from 1994 to 2011. He led North Korea
from the 1994 death of his father Kim Il-sung, North Korea's first
Supreme Leader, until his own death in 2011, when he was succeeded by
his son, Kim Jong-un.In the early 1980s, Kim had become the heir
apparent for the leadership of the Democratic People's Republic of
Korea (DPRK) and assumed important posts in the party and army organs.
Kim succeeded his father and DPRK founder Kim Il-sung, following the
elder Kim's death in 1994. Kim was the General Secretary of the
Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), WPK Presidium, Chairman of the National
Defence Commission (NDC) of North Korea and the Supreme Commander of
the Korean People's Army (KPA), the fourth-largest standing army in
the world.Kim ruled a repressive and totalitarian dictatorship in
North Korea. Kim assumed supreme leadership during a period of
catastrophic economic crisis amidst the dissolution of the Soviet
Union, on which it was heavily dependent for trade in food and other
supplies, which brought a famine. While the famine had ended by the
late 1990s, food scarcity continued to be a problem throughout his
tenure. Kim strengthened the role of the military by his Songun
("military-first") policies, making the army the central organizer of
civil society. Kim's rule also saw tentative economic reforms,
including the opening of the Kaesong Industrial Park in 2003. In April
2009, North Korea's constitution was amended to refer to him and his
successors as the "supreme leader of the DPRK".
pronunciation: [kim.dzÉ"Å‹.il];[b] 16 February 1941 or 1942 â€" 17
December 2011) was a North Korean politician who served as the second
Supreme Leader of North Korea from 1994 to 2011. He led North Korea
from the 1994 death of his father Kim Il-sung, North Korea's first
Supreme Leader, until his own death in 2011, when he was succeeded by
his son, Kim Jong-un.In the early 1980s, Kim had become the heir
apparent for the leadership of the Democratic People's Republic of
Korea (DPRK) and assumed important posts in the party and army organs.
Kim succeeded his father and DPRK founder Kim Il-sung, following the
elder Kim's death in 1994. Kim was the General Secretary of the
Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), WPK Presidium, Chairman of the National
Defence Commission (NDC) of North Korea and the Supreme Commander of
the Korean People's Army (KPA), the fourth-largest standing army in
the world.Kim ruled a repressive and totalitarian dictatorship in
North Korea. Kim assumed supreme leadership during a period of
catastrophic economic crisis amidst the dissolution of the Soviet
Union, on which it was heavily dependent for trade in food and other
supplies, which brought a famine. While the famine had ended by the
late 1990s, food scarcity continued to be a problem throughout his
tenure. Kim strengthened the role of the military by his Songun
("military-first") policies, making the army the central organizer of
civil society. Kim's rule also saw tentative economic reforms,
including the opening of the Kaesong Industrial Park in 2003. In April
2009, North Korea's constitution was amended to refer to him and his
successors as the "supreme leader of the DPRK".
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